If you like numbers, you’re going to love the CDC’s new eye health initiative. The Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System, as it’s officially known, will estimate the prevalence of eye conditions using years’ worth of data from national surveys, longitudinal population-based studies, registries, electronic health records and administrative claims records. It’s every epidemiologist’s dream. Check it out here. CDC

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have engineered eye drops for AMD that may work just as well as intravitreal injections. The eye drops contain a cell-penetrating peptide that can deliver therapeutically effective doses of ranibizumab or bevacizumab to the retina. Findings published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science suggest the drops perform on par with injections in rat, rabbit and pig eyes. Next up: human trials. University of Birmingham

The first eye implant to deliver a steady stream of ranibizumabhas shown promise in phase 2 trials, Genentech reports. The small refillable device, dubbed the Port Delivery System, aims to eliminate regular eye injections in patients with wet AMD. Most trial participants went 6 months or longer between refills, and patients in the high-dose group achieved similar vision outcomes as those who received monthly injections. Phase 3 trials begin later this year. Genentech In Vancouver, where retina specialists converged for last week’s ASRS 2018 annual meeting, a vision rehabilitation specialist singlehandedly coaches an estimated 6,000 visually impaired residents to regain mobility and control of their lives. A local newspaper profiled her work. Goldstream News Gazette

Scientists have uncovered a gene responsible for eye degeneration and blindness. The discovery, published in Human Molecular Genetics, emerged from genomic analysis of a consanguineous family with 3 affected and 2 healthy children. Further studies in fruit flies confirmed the role of MARK3 in abnormal eye development and blindness. The findings pave the way for genetic tests that might aid early diagnosis and personalized treatment. University of Geneva